The Hardest Duty
by Skryx
Summary: Sometimes the hardest battles of a soldier aren't fought away from home but on it. Just some semi-sad story with some christmasy stuff/fluff at the end I guess. Merry Christmas! (and yes, it's a one-shot)


**Yay! Christmas present for EVERYONE! Merry Christmas (though I'm not Christian or anything...)**

Fate Testarossa rang the doorbell of an ordinary house in the suburbs of Mid-childa. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She heard running footsteps, that of a child. She opened her eyes and exhaled slowly. The door swung open. She glimpsed small fingers griping the rim of the door before being presented with a small blonde girl.

_Vivio_...

She shook her head. _No_. This girl wasn't Vivio. That much was evident from her brown eyes instead of the heterochomic red and green.

" Yes?" the little girl asked innocently

" Ah." she squatted down so that she was level with the girl. "Hello there. What's your name?" she asked with a smile. A sad one, a pathetic one, but a smile nonetheless. She had always got along with children. Always felt the need to protect them. After her own childhood, if it could be called that, she had made a promise to never allow a child to be hurt if she could help it. A promise that she had now broken. She gripped the bundle in her arms tightly.

" Elena," the girl replied shyly, hiding partially behind the door. " Elena Cook."

" Elena," she repeated. " That's a nice name." She smiled encouragingly, coaxing the girl out from behind the door. " Well, Elena, can I talk to your mother? Father, maybe?"

" Dad's working. But mom's in the kitchen." the girl paused and added brightly. " Nii-chan's on a mission. He's a Gap-tin now. Nii-chan is so strong!" she exclaimed, proudly.

Fate felt her heartbreak.

" I bet he is. Super strong, right?"

" Un!"

" And brave?"

" Of course!"

She stared at the girl for a second. _What am I doing?_

" I bet you're brave too, Elena."

" You think so?" her eyes lit up even more. _You'll have to be_. " I'm not as brave as nii-chan, though."

" You will be, some day." she ruffled the girl's hair. " Could you fetch your mother for me?"

Suddenly, the girl was hesitant.

" What's wrong?" she asked, noting the change in her personality.

" Mom said I shouldn't talk to strangers." she mumbled, as if just remembering her mother's warning.

" It's alright," she reassured the little girl. " See?" she shifted the precious white bundle in her hands so that one of them was free. She pointed to her badge.

" I'm a Captain too. Like your brother."

" You're a Gap-tin too?" her brown eyes full of admiration.

" Yup. I won't hurt you."

" Promise?" _No. I can't promise that._

" Sure." she took the extended pinky. At once the girl grinned again. She bounced away, calling out to her mother.

" Mom, an off-fisher is here!"

* * *

_Flashback._

_" So," she asked the young man who stood before her. " How does it feel to be a Captain in the Navy? The fifth in command of the entire ship?" she grinned. The man replied with a grin of his own._

_" Absolutely fantabulous!" Then he grimanced. " Just the same as a lowly private, actually. And here I thought it would be something special." He grinned again. Fate laughed._

_" According to Chrono, it only ever changes when you become an Admiral. But only by a liiiiittle bit." She held up her index finger and thumb milimeters appart to emphasize her point._

_" Oh, well. My little sister is ecstatic about it though. Everytime I come home, she runs to my mother and says 'Mom, and official is here!' "_

_" Sounds like Vivio. What's she like then, your sister?"_

_" Very helpful. And hyper-active. I swear she starts shaking if she stands still." He looked outside the window, wistfully. " I can't wait to see her again." She laid a hand on his shoulder, gently._

_" I'm sure you will."_

* * *

" Oh!" a surprised voice startled her.

" Ma'am," she said respectfully, drawing up to her full height.

" I'm sorry," she apologised. " I was expecting someone else." Fate's fingers curled around the cloth in her hands with a death grip. The woman smiled, not noticing the movement. " I remember you. Enforcer Fate T. Harlaown, right? Doltan always spoke highly of you."

" Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."

" No need to be so formal," the woman laughed. She was a brunette.

_Nanoha_...

" Doltan isn't here, I'm afraid. Off on a mission." the last part was said with just a tinge of regret and worry. " Would you like to come in?"

" No, thank you. I've just come to deliver a message."

" A message?" the worry in her voice was evident.

" Yes, ma'am." she stood up straight and focused her gaze straight in front.

Fiona Cook noticed, for the first time, the bundle in the enforcer's hands. The bundle that was gripped so tightly that the fingers holding onto it were the same colour as the pure-white cloth. The colour drained from her face even as Fate opened her mouth.

" Mrs Fina Cook, we regret to inform you of the death-" tears started to appear in the corner of her eyes and she covered her mouth with her hand, " -of your son, Doltan Cook, fourth captain on-board the warship Aylim. Captain Doltan Cook was declared dead on the 19th of December at 0025 hours whilst fighting rebels on Unadministrated Planet 246#-" the tears were falling freely now, " -we thank you for the effort your son has given to ensure peace in the dimensions." She handed the white barrier jacket along with Doltan's device, a red pocketwatch, to the sobbing woman who gripped it tightly, crying into it.

" Funeral services will be held on the twenty-fifth," she continued in a softer voice.

" Doltan was a good man. A brave soldier. I'm sorry." Then with a gentle touch to the grieving woman's shoulder and a light touch of her hat, she was gone.

* * *

She slipped into her car, sinking into the soft, comfortable and expensive leather. Nanoha and Vivio were on Earth for the holidays. They didn't know she was back yet. As she drove, she couldn't help glancing in the rear-view mirror all the way. Her gaze was drawn to the three bundles sitting in the back. Three left of the seven she had started with. That she was given. That she had taken. The small bundles were the only thing left of seven brave soldiers. The only thing that seven families could grieve over.

She pulled over and parked her car. She gently picked up the next bundle and straightened her uniform. It was hot and stuffy, but she did not complain. Then Fate Testarossa Harlaown rang the doorbell of an ordinary house in the suburbs of Mid-childa.

* * *

There was no rain. Just an approaching cloud in the distance which held snow. It was December afterall. To the left of the caskets being lowered were the grieving families and friends, their head bowed low with sorrow. Some sobbing. Some staring blankly at the ground. To the right, were the comrades of the fallen. This group did not cry. Not a single tear. This group stood tall, backs ramrod straight. Eyes directly in front, looking forward. But even in this group of military soldiers, there were signs of grief. A shaking hand, clenched tightly. Glazed eyes, unseeing. Shoulders slightly slumped in defeat. And at the front of this group stood Fate Testarossa Harlaown, a little behind the Admiral of Aylim.

Her hands were relaxed, flat. Her shoulders were squared. And her eyes...blazed with determination. Through out the priest's speech, she did not move. Not at all. It was only when the caskets were buried, the priest had closed his book and the first snowflake fell that she did. A single swift movement as they saluted the fallen in unison. They held it for only a minute but for what seem like an age. It was the last goodbye. She dropped her hand to her side and did an aboutface. Then she strode away from her fallen comrades, through the crowd of soldiers.

* * *

_She struggled through the deep snow drifts. It was cold and dark. Her watch read 8 o'clock at night. Even in the bitter cold, she urged herself on._

* * *

Fate Testarossa Harlaown rang the doorbell of an ordinary house in the suburbs. She shifted her feet, trying to keep warm, holding onto the bundle in her hands. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She heard running footsteps, that of a child. She opened her eyes and exhaled slowly. The door swung open. She glimpsed small fingers griping the rim of the door before being presented with a small blonde girl.

_Vivio_...

"Fate-mama!" The girl exclaimed in surprised and threw herself at her godmother.

"Vivio.." she murmered softly, hugging the little girl tightly.

"Come on, come on!" her daughter pulled her along eagerly, dragging her to the dininng room.

She saw Nanoha, her back to her, setting the table. She crept up on her and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Guess who?" She asked.

"Fate-chan?" Nanoha said, softly. Her lover grinned and removed her hands. The brunette spun around and hugged her. "Fate-chan!"

" I'm back Nanoha." It was now that the tears fell.

" Welcome back, Fate-chan." After a few moment, Fate pulled away, drying her eyes.

" Merry Christmas, Nanoha."

" Un, Merry Christmas, Fate-chan," she glanced curiously at the bundle in the blonde enforcer's hands.

" Fate-chan, what's that?" she pointed to it.

" Oh, this? I didn't want it to get wet so..." she undid the packaging, revealing a small, velvet box.

" Fate-chan?" She didn't dare believe that it was...

Fate Testarossa Harlaown dropped on one knee and said: "Takamachi Nanoha, will you mary me?"

A long time ago, she hhad been hesitant to do this. But not now. She realised that if she didn't do this now, she might never get the chance ever again. And now her confidence was rewarded with two words.

" I will," Nanoha had a hand to her mouth and was crying as Fate slipped on the ring. Fate held her close and whispered " I love you, Takamachi Nanoha." Her lover and soon-to-be wife replied.

" I love you too, Fate."


End file.
